At the same time, there is ample evidence that these men’s families strongly influenced how they carried out their duties to the motherland.Homecoming after a long patrol was an occasion of real celebration for the officers and crew. Naturally, the men were glad to be back on land where their accommodations, though Spartan by Western standards, were luxurious compared to the cramped bunks and stagnant air on the boat. The return to port was even more significant for those who would be reuniting with their families. Many of the senior crew members had wives and children living in government-provided apartments on or near the base, or in housing in nearby military villages. Some lived across the bay in the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy. A few families of officers recently transferred to Rybachiy still lived at large naval complexes near Vladivostok, waiting for housing assignments closer to the base.Despite the strictness of the Soviet military system, the navy actually encouraged cadets to marry at the end of their academy training.
